‘My wife has terminal cancer’: Stratford man almost at halfway point of ‘Epic Run for Cancer’

A local man is running from Stratford to Tobermory to raise money for cancer care in honour of his wife who has terminal cancer. Scott Miller reports.

Samm Simon received a hero’s welcome in Ayton as the 57-year-old runs from his Ontario home in Stratford to Tobermory in honour of his wife, who is currently fighting cancer.

“My wife has terminal cancer. This is her third bout of it, and she’s my hero. What she goes through, this is nothing what I’m doing,” said Simon.

Simon left Stratford on Monday and is spending Wednesday night in Hanover. He’s run 113 kilometers over three days, not quite halfway to his 251-kilometer total, which will land him and his crew in Tobermory hopefully by Monday.

“We’re running up to Tobermory through the Bruce Peninsula. It’s going to take us about a week to eight days. We’re doing about a marathon a day, give or take, and we’re doing this to raise money for three wonderful organizations,” said Simon.

The Stratford General Hospital, Wellspring Stratford Cancer Centre and London Health Sciences Cancer Centre will be the beneficiaries of Samm’s ‘Epic Run for Cancer.’

It’s a run that is already taking a toll on his body.

“The body is, you know, I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling it at night. At night when we stop, they ice up the knees. It’s definitely my knees, feeling it the most. I also have a blister on the one foot,” he said.

“But I’ve got a lot of guidance on how to deal with that. So, other than the one blister on the right foot which we’re working on, and the knees, that are a little sore, we’re doing wonderful.”

Simon says the six months of training leading up his run has certainly helped, as has his wonderful road crew, keeping him healthy and on the right track. He knows why he’s doing this, which keeps him putting one foot in front of the other.

“We’re just keeping moving, keeping one foot at a time, forward,” said Simon.

Simon has raised $24,516 to date for the three health organizations that have helped most with his wife’s care.

You can follow, learn more, and donate to Samm Simon’s ‘Epic Run for Cancer’ by visiting the Samm Simon Charity Run 251 KM - Stratford, ON website and Epic Run for Cancer on Facebook.